Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Honoring WWII Veterans: California's Operation Greatest Gift

In 2004, the World War II Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C. to the 16 million Americans who served in the armed forces during that conflict. The numbers of those surviving WWII veterans dwindle every day, as they are well into their 80s and 90s. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs estimates, WWII veterans are dying at a rate of 900 a day. And out of 16 million, there are less than 2.5 million left. My father, who joined the Army Air Corps in his college years and became a B-29 pilot, will turn 93 in April. By 2020, even the youngest among them will be gone.

Now, Kenneth G. Nagel, the Grand Master of California has announced Operation Greatest Gift, the Grand Master's Project for 2009-2010, a program that will sponsor trips for hundreds of California's veterans to visit the Memorial.

We will organize several three-day trips to Washington, D.C. designed to provide what many [California] veterans cannot provide for themselves: an assisted visit to the memorial, at no cost to them. Because of our support, they will have an opportunity to say goodbye to fallen friends, be recognized for their service to our country, and come to terms with an important part of their lives.

The Grand Masters Project will also raise funds to support the work of the Masonic Hospital Visitors Program Committee. This committee of dedicated Masons ensures that there is always a presence at our states veterans hospitals by providing friendship, social programs, and regular visitation.

The goal is to raise $400,000 for this program. To that end, I received a note today from Brother Andrew Brumana, Senior Deacon at Mission Lodge No. 169 in San Francisco. In an incredible commitment last night, the lodge voted a contribution of $25,000 to this project.

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Freemasonry is the world's largest, oldest and best-known gentleman's fraternity. It is based on the medieval stonemason guilds who built the great castles and cathedrals of Europe. Modern Freemasons use the tools, traditions and terminology of those stonemasons as allegories for building temples in the hearts of men. It's said that we are a secret society. We do indeed have secrets—secrets that each individual man has to discover for and about himself. At its core, Freemasonry is simply an attempt to make the world a better place, one man at a time. For that man, it can become as simple or as complicated as he himself desires. It's not for everybody. Maybe it's for you.

"Brother Chris Hodapp's [blog]...is thought provoking and is often the first place on the web where new ideas and matters of interest are posted."

He spent twenty three years in advertising as a commercial filmmaker for Dean Crow Productions, shooting and editing close to 1,000 commercials, music videos and feature films. He has written scripts for corporate and non-profit clients, and his voice has appeared in many television and radio commercials.

Chris has attended Indiana University, the University of Southern California, Los Angeles Valley College, California State University at Northridge, and Indiana/Purdue University at Indianapolis.

As a Freemason, he is a Past Master of Broad Ripple Lodge #643 and of Lodge Vitruvian #767, Free & Accepted Masons of the State of Indiana. He is an honorary member of Vincennes Lodge No. 1, Plymouth-Kilwinning Lodge #149, Ancient Landmarks Lodge #319, Garfield Lodge #569, and Logan Lodge #575 in Indiana, African Lodge #459, Prince Hall Affiliation, in Boston, Massachusetts, and the Grand Lodge of New Mexico AF&AM.

He was the editor and a contributor to "Laudable Pursuit: A 21st Century Response to Dwight Smith"by the Knights of the North, a Masonic leadership think-tank. He has written for Indianapolis Monthly, Masonic Magazine, Templar History, the Scottish Rite Journal, the Knight Templar Magazine, the Indiana Freemason , the Phylaxis, and many other publications.

He has appeared on the History Channel, Discovery, National Geographic, and the American Heroes Channel. Hodapp and Von Kannon also developed episode outlines for the History Channel program, Brad Meltzer's Decoded in 2010, and Chris contributed material on conspiracies and secret societies for TruTV.

His most recent book, "Deciphering the Lost Symbol," was published in 2009.

He and Alice live in Indianapolis with their very French poodle, Wiley.

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